Patti Keller, RD, LD, CDE; Eileen
Hay, RN, CDE;
and Denise Bullion, RN, all with The Bellevue
Hospital’s Diabetes Education Department,
display the accreditation certificate awarded
to the program for the next three years.
This is the third consecutive three-year
accreditation for the local program.

The prestigious American Diabetes Association (ADA)
Education Recognition Certificate for a quality diabetes
self-management education program was recently awarded
to The Bellevue Hospital’s (TBH) Diabetes Education
Program. The ADA believes that this program offers
high-quality diabetes self-management education that is
an essential component of effective diabetes treatment.

This is the third-consecutive three-year
recognition for TBH’s diabetes education program.

TBH’s Diabetes Education Program also
received an on-site audit this past July, and the
program received continuing recognition with provision
from the Decision Subcommittee of the Education Program
Recognition Committee, American Diabetes Association.

The Association’s Education Recognition
Certificate assures that educational programs meet the
National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management
Education Programs. These standards were developed and
tested under the auspices of the National Diabetes
Advisory Board in 1983 and were revised by the diabetes
community in 1994 and 2000.

Programs applying for recognition
voluntarily submit to a rigorous review process by
experts in the field of diabetes who evaluate each
program on its ability to provide patients with a
comprehensive individualized education program. Programs
that achieve recognition status have a staff of
knowledgeable health professionals who can provide
participants with comprehensive information about
diabetes management.

“The process gives professionals a national standard by
which to measure the quality of services they provide,”
said Eileen Hay, RN, Certified Diabetic Educator at The
Bellevue Hospital. “And, of course, it helps to assure
that the consumer will receive high-quality services.”

In existence for the past 16 years, The Bellevue
Hospital’s Diabetes Education Program, which is overseen
by Hay, meets monthly for a seven-hour session over
three days. It incorporates a diabetic discipline
overseen by a nurse educator, dietician, pharmacist, and
health counselor.

Hay also oversees the organization of a monthly Diabetes
Support Group, which meets on the second Wednesday of
each month from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the hospital’s East
Conference Room. Hay also offers one-on-one diabetes
education for those unable to attend any of the classes
or support group meetings.

Education recognition status is verified by
an official certificate from the ADA and is awarded for
three years.

According to the ADA, there are 20.8 million
people, or 7% of the population in the United States who
have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been
diagnosed, unfortunately, 6.2 million people are not
aware that they have this disease. Each day,
approximately 4,110 people are diagnosed with diabetes.
Many will learn that they have diabetes when they are
treated for one of its life-threatening complications –
heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and
nerve disease and amputation. About 1.5 million people
will be diagnosed with diabetes this year. It is the
fifth-deadliest disease in the United States and it has
no cure. Based on death certificate data, diabetes
contributed to more than 224,092 deaths in 2002.

The ADA is the nation’s leading non-profit
health organization supporting diabetes research,
advocacy and information for health professionals,
patients and the public. Founded in 1940, the
Association has an area office in every state and
conducts programs and communities nationwide.